Sweden seal crazy win against the Netherlands

A strong start of the second half saw the Scandinavian powerhouse clinch their third win in a row, 29:28, and they will start the main round in Cologne with two points.

GROUP E

Sweden vs Netherlands 29:28 (15:15)

• Andreas Palicka saved three shots in the last 107 seconds of the match to deny the Netherlands three clear chances of scoring and preserving Sweden’s win
• Sweden have started the EHF EURO with three wins in a row for the first time since 2002, when they went on and won the title
• the Netherlands also lost line player Samir Benghanem, one of their most influential defenders, due to an injury in the second half
• leading the Dutch side with six goals and four assists, having a direct hand in 10 of his side’s 28 goals, centre back Luc Steins received the Player of the Match award, sponsored by Grundfos
• Sweden is one of the three sides to start the Group II of the main round in Hamburg with two points, alongside Denmark and Slovenia, while the Netherlands start on zero points

Olsson’s Netherlands show impressive display, but fail to bring the goods home

Staffan Olsson, the Netherlands’ coach, was in the same position for Sweden men’s team between 2008 and 2016, so who else would have known better all the intricacies of the reigning European champions?

Indeed, Olsson’s plucky Dutch team provided an outstanding challenge for Sweden, which needed some luck, plenty of experience and a lot of depth to seal their third win in three matches and progress to the main round with two points.

It was Andreas Palicka who lifted his game in the dying minutes of the match, with three saves, leaving the Dutch players in tears, so close to the biggest win in their history at the EHF EURO, but yet so far, after an outstanding performance from Steins and right back Niels Versteijnen (three goals, nine assists).